Fans stormed Farout Field on Senior Day as the Missouri Tigers beat the Arkansas Razorbacks, 21-14 to earn their spot in the SEC Championship.
Missouri’s Markus Golden forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter, allowing the Tigers to run the clock out and win the SEC East.
The game was a tale of two halves. Missouri struggled to move the ball in the first half and couldn’t stop Arkansas’ rushing attack. In the second half, a banged up Brandon Allen hindered Arkansas’ offense which led to a second half shutout by the Tigers. Missouri scored 15 fourth quarter points, which with Golden’s late fumble ended Arkansas’ comeback attempt.
Missouri’s offense has relied on the play of quarterback Maty Mauk. Mauk has been electric at times and disappointing at others, all season long. His second half play against Arkansas was one of the main reasons Missouri will make the trip to Atlanta next weekend.
Mauk went 25/42 for 265 yards and a touchdown.
The Razorbacks held Missouri to 22 yards rushing in the first half, but Missouri rallied and ended the game with 158 yards on the ground. On Missouri’s go-ahead scoring drive, they ran the ball 11 times for 85 yards, scoring on a 12 yard run by senior Marcus Murphy. The Tigers went for a two-point conversion and were successful on a wide receiver-reverse pass from Bud Sasser to Darius White, giving the Tigers a 21-14 lead that they would never lose.
Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen was injured in their previous game against Ole Miss and was questionable. It was questionable why head coach Bret Bielema never pulled Allen in the second half. Running backs Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins carried the team in the first half and passing wasn’t necessary. After Missouri tied and eventually went ahead on Arkansas, Allen needed to step up and physically couldn’t. His back injury hadn’t fully healed and it was obvious. Missouri’s pass rush constantly put hits on him as he slowly got worse. He finished the day going 13/30 for 133 yards and two touchdowns.
With Missouri’s win, they get to take on Alabama or Mississippi State in the conference title bout. For the second year in a row, they will be the heavy underdogs going into the game. A win in the SEC Championship does not guarantee a College Football Playoff appearance for the Tigers, but it won’t be easy for the Selection Committee to keep out a two-loss SEC Champion.
*Section Photo credit to Shane Keyser, Kansas City Star; Featured Photo (above) credit to USA Today Sports
